We are not surprised.

We are not surprised.

We are artists, arts administrators, assistants, curators, directors, editors, educators, gallerists, interns, scholars, students, writers, and more—workers of the art world—and we have been groped, undermined, harassed, infantilized, scorned, threatened, and intimidated by those in positions of power who control access to resources and opportunities. We have held our tongues, threatened by power wielded over us and promises of institutional access and career advancement.

We are not surprised when curators offer exhibitions or support in exchange for sexual favors. We are not surprised when gallerists romanticize, minimize, and hide sexually abusive behavior by artists they represent. We are not surprised when a meeting with a collector or a potential patron becomes a sexual proposition. We are not surprised when we are retaliated against for not complying. We are not surprised when Knight Landesman gropes us in the art fair booth while promising he’ll help us with our career. Abuse of power comes as no surprise.

This open letter stems from a group discussion about sexual harassment within our field,


© Jenny Holzer, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

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Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine, Florida

Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy in St. Augustine, Florida

Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine, Florida
June 12, 1964

On June 11, 1964, Dr. King and several other activists were arrested for attempting to integrate the Monson Motor Lodge. When interviewed during his brief incarceration, King pledged to challenge segregation in St. Augustine “even if it takes all summer.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Center - Miami

Miami-Dade Junior College. February 15, 1972.

Even the dead won’t be safe… via itself.blog
Avowed socialist… via Jacobin

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro, Cuba’s leader of revolution, dies at 90.(bbc) Hero and tyrant.

Fidel Castro, who towered over his Caribbean island for nearly five decades, a shaggy-bearded figure in combat fatigues whose long shadow spread across Latin America and the world, is dead at age 90. (Miami Herald)

…the fiery apostle of revolution (nytimes)

…fight colonialism (atlanta black star)

“A revolution is not a bed of roses” 1959 (the guardian)

Blacks americans and Castro (Quartz)


Fidel Castro shares a laugh with Malcolm X at the Hotel Theresa in New York, October 19, 1960.
REUTERS/Prensa Latina